After using the word "segue" in my last post, it reminded me of a funny story. The other night, me and Stephen and Taylor were driving around and they started talking about "segue" this and that. I was so confused, and with these two guys I was SURE they had their words mixed up. I was very high and mighty and kept saying, "Are you sure you guys know what a segue is?" I kept spelling it for them, which of course made no difference whatsoever.

Finally, last night, Stephen and I were searching for something online, and he points and yells, "THAT'S a Segway!" Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

I am really, really thankful for garages. Thinking back, I have never had my car in a garage (certainly not one with a door) until we moved into this house in June of 2007. Now, I really take it for granted! I guess this morning was the first time I really noticed it. I walked out of our house and into my car wearing a thin, long-sleeve shirt, pants, and sandals. My car thermometer said 56 degrees. Then I backed out, and started going down the road. I watched the thermometer drop...

52.

47.

32.

Eek! 32!! That's freezing! (Literally.) Anyway, it wasn't so bad stepping out when I got to work, because I had been toasty in my car.------------------------------Segue----------------------------------------A couple of weeks ago, when Stephen's family was in town, we turned on the gas logs for the first time so they wouldn't freeze to death. Unfortunately, the day after they left, it still smelled like gas, so we just turned them back off. Wednesday, I took the morning off work to meet the gas people out at the house for them to check and see what was going on. The appointment was for 8:30. At 8:45 I called Stephen to let him know they weren't there yet (according to his instructions) and he called them. Well, it turns out that the girl who made the appointment didn't actually finish writing all the information down. So, on the appointment schedule, it was written, "First thing Wednesday morning" and nothing else. By the time this was all figured out, it was 9:30, and Stephen was NOT happy that I had to take off work for no good reason. So he told me he was making a new appointment and making sure to ask for some kind of compensation. (He also abides by "It never hurts to ask".) He called me this morning - they are coming this afternoon - and they called him to let him know that any time spent out at our house today will be free (it's usually $78 per hour and extra per 15 minutes after that). So, yay!-----------------------------------Transition-----------------------And another thing about appointments! I have a doctor's appointment (that is the fifth time I've written "apopintment" and had to revise it) on Monday at 8:20. Ten days ago I called to see if there were any later times I could come. No.... that is the only available time right now.

So imagine my surprise when I get a phone call this morning telling me that my doctor wasn't supposed to be schedule for Monday morning appointments, and can I change my time or day? Well that would be fine except I've already scheduled off work for that appointment, and scheduled other things on other days that I can't change. Finally she was able to change it to just 45 minutes later (??). Why are appointments so difficult?

Monday, October 27, 2008

Friday, Stephen stopped by work because we're looking at area rugs for the living room. As he left, he told me to start thinking about where I wanted to eat dinner because he was taking me out! Now, maybe that doesn't sound that thrilling to you, but we only eat out about once every 6 weeks, and that includes ordering pizza!! So I thought of all the reasons he might want to take me out - to propose, to tell me he's pregnant, to tell me he won the lottery... but none of those sounded very reasonable. Turns out he just thought I deserved a night out!! I picked Tripps because we used to go there when we were dating, and hadn't been there for almost three years. But I have great memories of the food there!

Our waiter started off by showing us "this incredible wine" that would go nicely with the $35 special. Of course. Anyway, Stephen proudly pointed out that I am not allowed to drink because I am pregnant. The waiter started laughing and said, "Then I'm cutting you off!" He left to get our drink orders, and when he returned he said to congratulate us we could pick anything off the dessert menu for free!!!

Our meal was fantastic, and our waiter, Sol, was so awesome. He was funny, and extremely attentive. In the end, I only ate half my meal so that I could save room for dessert. I ended up ordering a slice of strawberry cheesecake. That slice was as big as any whole cheesecake I've ever seen!! I told Stephen I wished I had my camera because no one would believe how big it was. And I definitely ate that whole thing by myself! It was absolutely delicious.

It was so nice to have a night out to ourselves, and everything was just so perfect - from the food to the service to the great conversation!

Saturday I worked at FTF, and trained a girl from 7am-5pm. I was really not happy about that at first because I'm not good at small talk, and I knew I would want a nap that afternoon and not be able to take one! But she turned out to be a really incredible lady. I bet we talked for 8 of those 10 hours about just everything we could think of!! By the end of the day she swore we are soul sisters, and she kept saying she was gonna come over and pinch me to make sure she didn't feel it. She is a really cute minister's wife with 5 kids so we had a lot to talk about. Mainly yard sales, books, and church. That night we were going to watch UFC 90 with a few people. Steve and Kathy came over at 8:00. The fight didn't start until 10:00 so they all watched football while I did some homework. Miguel, who works with Stephen, ended up driving from Fayetteville to watch the fight too. Steve and Kathy left around 11:00 when Kathy got too tired to stay up any longer. The rest of us plowed through and made it through all the fights (which lasted until 1:00 am). I can't believe that I didn't pass out during any of the fights! I was so exhausted. Fortunately we can sleep in on Sundays and if we're lucky we get a nap Sunday afternoons as well, between church services. We were lucky yesterday and got one!

At church, Stephen does children's church. I don't, because, well, I'm just not that into kids in that age group. I'm sure that will change with time.. right? Anyway, the teen that was supposed to help him yesterday didn't come to church, so I had to step in and be his assistant. We started off by passing out snacks (nothing like giving kids Oreos, chocolate chip cookies and Hi-C before sending them screaming back to their parents). One of the kids asked if he could say the blessing, so of course we said sure! His prayer turned out to be absolutely the cutest, funniest thing. It was along these lines - "Lord... thank you for today. Thank you for us being here and I pray we'll have a good day and go home after church and have a good day and come back tonight and then go home and go to bed and sleep good and wake up the next morning and I pray that we'll go to school and be good and our parents will go to work and work hard and then we'll come home and go to bed and wake up the next morning and do the same thing all over again...(insert looong pause).... Amen." It was so funny! The whole thing took like 5 minutes so it was even funnier. Okay, so I guess kids are cute after all.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Just a word of warning - this blog is about baby stuff, so if you're overwhelmed by baby stuff because that's all you hear about lately - just bypass this one. This is all stuff given to me recently by Gail, Renee, and Leila/Lauren/Lauren's past employer. This kid is spoiled rotten already!!

The convertible carseat

Tons of clothes, bibs, blankets, and miscellaneous from Gail:

Of course, Baby T.'s first Noah's Ark toy (from Gail!)

The awesome jogging stroller we got from Lauren's ex-employer. The carseat came with it. If we had paid full price it would have been around $200.

Toys that were so generously donated from Emma and Jessie! (And Renee had something to do with it I'm sure) Leila and I spent about 30-45 minutes playing with just one of these toys, so I can tell I'm gonna like them!

Saturday, October 18, 2008

One favorite pastime of mine is to go yard saling. Now, going to yard sales by itself is thrilling for me (I love the hunt of a bargain) but going with someone else who really appreciates a good deal steal is really fun!! I finally had a Saturday off where I was going to be home to go to yard sales, so of course mom and dad and I met up with each other to go to the three biggest ones that were happening today. One of my favorite things about yard sales is I still get to sleep in till about 7:45 if I feel like it (which of course I do) and I still don't really miss out on anything. My motto is, if I don't see it, I don't know what I'm missing. I'm really on a roll this week because of Rite Aid rebates Thursday nights and then yard sales today. With my Rite Aid rebates, this month I have gotten totally free (so far - there's still one week left) Crest mouthwash, Chloroseptic throat spray, Sucrets lozenges, Theraflu, and an entire Netipot. Totally free! I love it! I am addicted to a good deal. Anyway, between the 'rents and I, we found such great deals today that I want to post some of them. The first one we went to had such awesome prices, and then the next one by the time we got there had already marked everything in there half price! The last one we went to, we were two people away from being checked out in line and they made an announcement that everything was going half price right then! So to say we got deals is an understatement. Okay, as Julie Andrews/Maria would say, here are a few of my favorite things...

This is the never before used wok that I got for $2:

This pretty pot will be used for my crocus and daffodil bulbs that mom and dad got us for our anniversary. 25 cents:

Stephen's been wanting to do a 3-D puzzle for a while, but they're just too darn expensive. Not this one! Never been opened before - 25 cents:

Of course I couldn't resist all these books. None were over 25 cents except the audiobook, which was 50 cents:

And I hauled in all this baby stuff! In this pile is books, socks, hats, toys, Carter's clothes, cloth diapers, receiving blankets, burp cloths, a changing mat, and a little sleeping bag thing to wrap up the baby in - all 25 cents except the changing mat (50 cents) and sleeping bag (1.00):

And this is the like new bread maker I got for $3.50! (Half off!) Later on, I saw the exact same bread maker at another yard sale for $5. Woot!

Yes, I'm very happy with how we did! Of course I got many other things, but I didn't think everyone was that interested in everything I got. Mainly it was just puzzles and candles and stuff. One thing I did get for free that I am really excited about is:

Shoe boxes!!

Our youth group is doing Operation Christmas Child this year. At one of the yard sales at Our Savior Lutheran church, I saw several shoe boxes underneath one of the tables. When I asked the lady in charge about them, and told her what I wanted them for, she said that's probably what they were going to use them for, but she would call me if they didn't use them. Well, about 20 minutes later, she came and found me and said if I wanted a box of ten, I could take them. Yes!! That was so nice of her to hunt me down and let me take them. That means the kids don't have to find empty boxes, just fill them up, which is the fun part anyway!

After yard sales, mom and dad took me to 195 for lunch, of course. It was absolutely delicious and filling. Now I am going to be waddling around all afternoon because we are having visitors from Georgia come tonight! I better get to work cleaning up all my yard sale finds!!!

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

The longer I am away from the blog the easier it is to not blog! So I am jumping back in today in hopes that I will post more pictures and stuff soon. This is going to be the Cliff's Notes version of last weekend.

Friday night Keely pulled into Pinebluff around midnight, long after I was in bed. But Stephen woke me up so I could greet her! We chatted for just a short while before heading our separate ways, to the bedrooms.

Saturday, unfortunately, I couldn't get off work. So at 6am I was on my way to work while Keely and Stephen were nestled snugly in their respective beds. So what did Stephen do to entertain Keely while I was at work?

Why, took her shooting of course!

Keely was extraordinarily excited about shooting, and Stephen said her face looked like "Christmas morning" after each pull of the trigger. They ended up shooting for six hours and Stephen said the best part was Keely listened to him the whole time. I find that hard to believe, but probably only because I have gotten so used to tuning him out on certain subjects... Stephen if you do end up reading this blog ever, you know I'm kidding, right? Right. :)

That night after I got home, we grilled ribs for dinner and made it through about half of the movie Just Married. Which, if you ever just need to laugh, you will love that movie.

Sunday was a pretty relaxing day. We went to church, and then decided on Sonic for lunch. It turns out that Keely has this competition going with a friend about eating out at Sonic so she had to text him pictures of her eating there! It was so funny!!! I kind of feel like me and Jenn should do that about Chick Fil-A except she would totally win. After that, Keely and I went to Carrie K.'s baby shower. It was so much fun! Of course I love free food, and I love seeing baby stuff! Well, particularly clothes. Clothes have always been hard for me to quit buying for baby showers. I mean, they're just so adorable!!! By the time we got home from that, we had about 45 minutes to relax before church that night.

Monday morning we got up in time to head off to Chick Fil-A so we could get multiple amounts of chicken minis - which they should seriously serve all day long. I'm serious, Chick Fil-A. Of course it was delicious as usual. If I'm ever really rich, I can see myself building a Chick Fil-A into my basement. Keely wanted to get an early start home so she could get back to Virginia by dark. So we took the opportunity to walk outside in the gorgeous weather. We played with Cassie some, and showed off some of our landscaping to Keely. We had very active nature that morning, and I took some pictures of some odd visitors we have at our house. They are spiders I can't identify. I'll post them soon. We had tons of butterflies on our butterfly bushes, a caterpillar making a cocoon, and of course the usual birds and rabbits that float around in our woods. It was really peaceful and it was about 76, so it was just perfect to go walking around outside.

After Keely left, (both her and Stephen were off for Columbus Day, which is a federal holiday, but I took a vacation day to have it off), Stephen and I spent the rest of the day LOUNGING. Because lounging doesn't happen very often for us!! We watched a couple of movies and just laid around snacking all afternoon. That night I had Ladies Group so unfortunately I didn't get to go to bed very early. But Ladies Group was awesome. The girls that cooked made chips and dip (one pizza dip, one spinach and artichoke), chicken salad sandwiches, sausage bruschetta (I'm sure I spelled that wrong - sorry), peach cobbler and this incredible chocolate/whipped cream layered cake with cherries on top!! Yum! Our Bible lesson was great too, as well as just sticking around afterwards to chat with everyone, cause I rarely have time to do that after church.

Yesterday I left work early for a doctor's appointment. It was just our family medical history appointment, so I was pretty bummed that I wasn't going to have an ultrasound done or anything. Stephen got off work early and met me there. My blood pressure was fabulous, if I do say so myself. 110/64. It hasn't been that low in forever! And I gained two more pounds, which makes a grand total of 5 preggo pounds so far! Then the nurse surprised us by taking us back for an ultrasound! She said because it's so long between the first u/s (around 8 weeks) and the second (around 20 weeks) that they like to throw in a freebie around 12-13 weeks for the mother's sanity. Thank you SP Women's Clinic!! It was amazing! Hopefully sometime I can scan those pictures and put them on here.

Last night we were getting ready for Bible study when we got the call that a church member's father had passed away, so church was cancelled. So we went over to mom and dad's to show them the u/s pictures instead. And then we finished a movie we had started on Monday! So another relaxing night!

Today I will dine with mom and dad for lunch, which will be fabulous as always. And we have church tonight. Tomorrow night I don't know what we'll do. See, we have a week off of school right now because our next session doesn't start until Monday. So we haven't had homework all week long! It's been a nice break. I'm sure we'll find something to do tomorrow night though.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

This past weekend, Stephen and I drove to Myrtle Beach to see his grandparents, and tell them about Baby T. They have a timeshare there, so it seemed like a great opportunity to see them and hit the beach. And it ended up being an incredibly cheap trip for us, because they insisted on paying for all our meals while we were there (only three meals, but still!) So it only cost us gas, and... now that I think about it, I'm not sure we actually got gas. We were driving my car, and it's only about 240 miles there and back, and since I had filled up before we left, we wouldn't have used a whole tank. Sweet!

We actually got there before them on Saturday, so I was able to get in some research paper time. We were only about 1 1/2 hours ahead of them, but it gave me plenty of time to get some stuff typed up. Once they got there, we caught up and chatted for a while, and by about 5:00 they were ready to eat. I knew this would be a bad situation because I knew I'd need to eat again before bed! But anyway, I had snacks, so I didn't care. We went to a great seafood restaurant within walking distance from the condos. It was a beautiful night to be out walking also. Stephen and I went for a romantic walk on the beach and I picked some shells for Nenah for her collection. We didn't walk quite as far as I would have liked to because it got dark really fast once we got out there. So someone wanted to head back to the room. Not naming any names.

The next morning we went out for breakfast, and the restaurant we went to committed the ultimate sin - I found a hair in my food. Fortunately, it didn't ruin my appetite and I scarfed down my entire meal (of course they brought me a whole new plate out!!) When we got back to the hotel, Stephen and I were talking about going down to the beach but we didn't want to just leave Nenah and Papa either, since we had driven specifically to see them and everything. After about an hour it was pretty obvious that their plans involved TV and not much else. I mean, I'm all for relaxing on vacation but I'm also slightly antsy. So I started the wink, wink, nudge, nudge deal with Stephen, to help him read my mind that I was ready to go for a dip. He got the hint, and as he started to get up off the couch, he stretched, and then froze. His face completely contorted in pain and he was like, "Geez! What did I just do?" At first, I didn't have much sympathy because I figured it was a pulled muscle, and let's face it, we rarely go to the beach, so suck it up, right? Well this was some type of pulled muscle because within seconds he couldn't move, and he finally wobbled into our bedroom and just plopped on the bed and declared that he couldn't move again - that the pain was too bad. So now I have to think of a way to get him healed so I can still hit the beach. So here I come with a heating pad, IcyHot, and aspirin. I massaged that boy with IcyHot until my arms were cramping! Absolutely nothing was helping. Finally he just laid down with the heating pad trying not to move. At this point I told him he may have either pulled a tendon or pinched a nerve, because we should have been able to rub out some of the pain if it was just a pulled muscle.

After an hour or so of watching a golf documentary, and me sighing loudly a couple of times, and looking longingly towards the beach, Stephen told me if I wanted to go down there he'd go down with me. Yippee!! So off we went, and let me tell you, it was kind of weird being in a bikini knowing that I am starting to get poochy in the midsection, but like Stephen said, who am I trying to impress!? But anyway, Stephen just laid down in the sun and I went shell-searching for Nenah once again. After about 30 minutes of that I told Stephen I wanted to do some laps in the pool. So he went to the hot tub and I went to the pool. I ended up doing about 25 minutes of laps and it felt so good! I was so tired after that.

After that we went back up to the room and Nenah and Papa told us they wanted to order a pizza before we left, so we did that, and packed up and everything.

I had to drive home because Stephen was in too much pain. It was fortunate for him that I was there to drive. It was unfortunate for him that I missed a turn somewhere. I guess 501 splits somewhere and I just kept on truckin on the wrong 501. And he was asleep so he had no idea. Hey, I was singing to Point of Grace! Give me a break!! Fortunately, since we used to live in Charleston, I directed myself to Florence, and then I-95, and then we hit Rowland from there and were back on 501. It took exactly 8 minutes longer to get home than it took to get there. So I didn't screw up TOO bad. At least I knew where I was when I got lost.

Monday he went to the doctor and it turns out he pinched a nerve. The pain runs from his neck to his mid-back. He is on muscle relaxants and some other pain pill. It helps a little, but not much, so at night I give him ice rubs which is supposed to help repair the nerve. I'm hoping he heals up soon!! He's just nervous that this is going to cause back problems for him in the future, but I don't think so. I hope not anyway.

So that's the adventures of our mini vacay to Myrtle Beach! It was nice to get away but I can't wait for our next vacation, which will be just the two of us (well, three of us technically) and it will be so nice to get away!!!! Yay!!

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Well, today was a pretty good day overall, considering the fact that I have been really tired again this week. I think it all started with a rotten bed at the beach last weekend, but that's another story for another day.

First of all, I had a grand (albeit unhealthy as all get out) breakfast this morning. Renee spoiled me by bringing in cotton candy from the fair they went to last night.

I enjoyed it!!

At lunchtime, I had to go to FTF to have my yearly evaluation. I've never had a job evaluation before so I was curious to see how awkward it would be. Come to find out, if you're doing your job, it's not awkward at all! My boss recommended me for a pay raise and more hours, so when those come up I will be on the docket. That's a good feeling. Then I had a continuing education class, which talked about something we're involved in at work called Employee Assistance Program. That means all of the FTF employees get free counseling sessions through the EAP, totally provided for by the employer. It is totally free unless they have to refer you to a psychiatrist or something of that nature. Anyway, it was really interesting.

Then I finally got my research paper for my class graded. I was a little worried (but not much) about my grade, because I did 98% of my paper on the way to Myrtle Beach last weekend. Not the best atmosphere for researching. But anyway, I got my grade back on that today and I got a 96 on it. So I'm happy. The class average was in the low 80's, so I guess I did better than I thought!

We had Bible study tonight and I took a couple of pictures to show the growth of the building. It was so dark by the time we got there, though, that they didn't turn out very well. Maybe you can see a little though.

Friday, October 3, 2008

A few weeks ago, in youth group, we did this short little "assignment" and then we discussed our answers and why we gave them. It was really quick, kind of hard, and pretty funny to hear people's answers. So I'm going to post the questions and my answers, and you should answer them too! (In your head only if you want)

1. Suppose you came home and found your house on fire, and you only had time to save three things. Assuming family members and pets are all out and safe, what three things would you save and why?(To answer this question, I thought back to our break-in a year ago and what I really hoped they did not take)1. computer tower (it has all my pictures and documents on it!!)2. photo albums3. my memory box

2. Suppose you went to the doctor and found out you only had one month to live, besides being with loved ones, what three things would you like to do before dying, and why?1. travel overseas2. evangelize on the streets (I would probably have more courage if I knew I was about to die. I know that's sad, but it's the truth)3. buy tons of stuff with the money I won't be using anymore and donate it to local families

3. Suppose your best friend forever is moving away to another country in one week. You may not see each other again for a long time. What three things would you definitely want to say to your friend before he or she leaves, and why?1. how they've helped me through a tough time2. funniest memory of us together3. my address and phone number

4. Suppose something way beyond your control came up and you had to give up some things in your life. From the list below, what would be the three hardest things for you to give up and what would be the three easiest, and why?- Material Possessions (my car, home, nice clothes)- Health (my physical strength and energy)- Self esteem (my self worth)- Your reputation (my popularity and respect)- Political freedom (fair government, right to vote)- Religious freedom (my right to worship God, free from persecution)- Family (my parents, grandparents, siblings)- Good Job (my career desires, earning a good living)- Friends (my close friends)- Faith (my faith and trust in God)My three hardest to give up would be: religious freedom, faith, and familyMy three easiest to give up would be: material possessions, political freedom, and a good job

Thursday, October 2, 2008

In semi-baby-related news, work must be rough for Stephen right now. Tuesday night on the way home from church, he assured me that if I decide I do want to work after having the baby, he will be more than happy to quit his job. He called it "taking one for the team". He tried to make it sound like I was getting the better part of the deal. I'm not going to let him sweet talk me though! I asked him if he really thought that spending all day with a crying baby is going to be less stressful than working. He answered in the affirmative.

In recipe-related news, I actually cooked Monday night! I am starting to get some energy back and I really wanted to cook something. And I was craving lasagna. Now, Stephen likes lasagna, but he's not crazy about it. He doesn't like ricotta cheese, which is why he now orders stromboli instead of calzones at Italian restaurants. So a few months ago, Lora brought this lasagna recipe to church, and when he ate it he went gaga over it. So I decided to surprise him by making it. I am posting the recipe here because it was SO EASY to make and great for people who don't like ricotta cheese.

Ours was gone in two days. I'm going to have to do two pans the next time!!!

In eating-related news, I found out this morning that I am completely inept at eating oranges. Is there like, a WikiHow article about peeling oranges or anything?? Oh my gosh, there IS!!! Well, it's too late now. I have never been an orange eater. I'm not prejudiced or anything, I guess I just thought they're so much work for a not so amazing flavor. But then mom pointed out how high they are in fiber, which will come in handy at some point. Also, that Vitamin C never hurt anyone. So I decided to jump in with both feet first. I found out immediately that I wish I was left-handed. See, I use my right hand so much that all my nails are really short on that hand. So it was really hard for me to use those to peel the orange with. Next time I'll probably use the bite and tear method (don't peel the orange, just peel the fruit away from the skin with your teeth). Well, I ended up eating over the trash can because of the juice, and my slices were certainly not coming off in slices, they were coming off in chunks. I am so glad no one walked by during this operation. Needless to say, I felt like a lot of work was put into that orange. But it tasted better than I remembered, so I'll probably head back to the grocery store and get some more later.

In surprise-related news, Stephen has been telling me allllll week that I have a surprise coming. I had a couple of guesses, but really vague ones, like maybe some pregnancy-related thing, or maybe Wii Fit. But no, my surprise came yesterday, and guess what my yummy hubs got me!?!? Guitar Hero: Legends of Rock!! Now I finally have a guitar of my own, and now we can battle or co-op. I prefer battle, Stephen prefers co-op (because I always kick his butt!!) I played about three songs before church and then he had to drag me away. Then after church I made him cook dinner so I could play again. I tell ya, it's addictive! Especially since I know I'm not going to beat GH2 on expert - I only have 3 songs left and I just can't beat them. So I'm ready for a new challenge.